Minister ‘will not revoke flat-fee system’
The Minister for Justice has said that he will not be revoking the flat-fee payment system for criminal legal-aid cases in the District Court that came into effect in 1 July.
The scheme has led to protests from solicitors and resignations from the criminal legal-aid panel that have disrupted courts across the country.
“Part of what’s happening at present is that some solicitors think that if they put enough pressure on the system to disrupt cases, that this is going to result in political pressure on me and I’m going to revoke the regulations.
'That’s not going to happen'
“That’s not going to happen,” Minister Jim O’Callaghan told reporters after the launch of the Courts Service’s annual report at Dublin's Green Street court this morning (13 July)
The minister said that he regretted that some solicitors had resigned from the criminal legal-aid panel, adding that there were still around 800 solicitors on the panel.
“I know that the solicitors involved in cases that are being disrupted are getting a lot of attention, but it is the case that cases are ongoing on the District Court,” he told reporters.
Delays
Asked if it was time to sit down with solicitors and end the dispute, the minister said that there had been engagement with solicitors ahead of the scheme’s introduction.
The minister referred to a recent case involving a man charged with a minor offence in 2023 whose case had not been determined three years later.
He said that he was not blaming solicitors for delays in the courts system, but recognising that the system needed to be improved.
“What I’m trying to ensure is that cases are heard promptly in the District Court,” he stated.
The Law Society has rejected suggestions that the previous payment scheme has led to higher adjournment rates.
‘Early days’ for courts
The minister said that he would keep the scheme under review.
“Like any new scheme, there may be a requirement to make tweaks to it,” he said.
Asked about the effects of disruption on the courts, Courts Service chief executive Angela Denning said that it was “early days” and the service would wait to see the impact.
She acknowledged that there would be large backlogs if the dispute continued for a prolonged period, but added that the Courts Service had cleared backlogs before during the COVID period.
'Very nasty' email threats
Earlier, the minister told the launch event that he believed legislation would be needed to ensure a more efficient statutory means of protecting the judiciary, courts staff, and court users.
High Court President Mr Justice David Barniville recently highlighted a “noticeable increase” in incidents of violent and destructive behaviour, both inside and outside the courtroom, adding that a practice direction on the issue was being prepared.
Angela Denning told reporters that the profile of some of the email threats coming into court offices now was “very nasty” compared with past experience.
“I think the tone is very different – and that’s something we need to deal with,” she added.